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Quadrophenia

1979, Musical/Drama, 1h 55m

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Quadrophenia photos.

An angst-ridden London youth, Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels) escapes the drudgery of his postal job as a member of the Mods, a sharply dressed gang constantly at odds with their rivals, the Rockers. When the Mods and Rockers clash in the coastal town of Brighton, England, it leads to both trouble and an encounter with the lovely Steph (Leslie Ash). Returning to London, Jimmy, who aspires to be like Mod leader Ace Face (Sting), becomes even more disillusioned and longs to return to Brighton.

Genre: Musical, Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Franc Roddam

Producer: Roy Baird , Bill Curbishley

Writer: Dave Humphries , Franc Roddam , Martin Stellman

Release Date (Theaters): Nov 2, 1979 wide

Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017

Runtime: 1h 55m

Distributor: World Northal, Rhino Entertainment Company [us]

Production Co: The Who Films, Polytel

Sound Mix: Dolby, Surround

Cast & Crew

Phil Daniels

Mark Wingett

Philip Davis

Garry Cooper

Franc Roddam

Dave Humphries

Screenwriter

Martin Stellman

Bill Curbishley

Roger Daltrey

Executive Producer

John Entwistle

David Gideon Thomson

Pete Townshend

John Peverall

Associate Producer

Brian Tufano

Cinematographer

Sean Barton

Film Editing

Mike Taylor

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Critic Reviews for Quadrophenia

Audience reviews for quadrophenia.

"16h20p16--16h20p16--16h20p16--16h20p16--16h20p16--16h20p16--|16--16h18--21-| |--------18--------18--------18--------18--------18--------18|--18-----18---| |------------------------------------------------------------|--------------| |------------------------------------------------------------|--------------| |------------------------------------------------------------|--------------| |------------------------------------------------------------|--------------|!"Yeah, you can't lamely quote the lyrics to an instrumental, so I just lamely put down a little sample of the tabs from the titular song off of this film's source material album of the same somewhat awkward sounding name. Oh no, I'm very well aware that the title to this film and the album upon which it's based are refering to quadraphonic sound, but come on, now you can't deny that this title is an "L" in the place of the "N" away from helping you in seeing why Pete Townshend was faced with accusation that he had a thing for kids. Well, in all fairness, the child pornography that he looking through for the purpose of "research that would help him in better understanding the enemy in his fight against child pornography" didn't help, but hey, I still like him, and besides, my dad though Townshend was gay sooner than a pedophile, so I guess no one else really cares either. Hey, if you ask me, I think that Townshend really was doing research, as he does indeed know the struggle of children, as reflect in the album "Quadrophenia", as well as this adaptation, or at least that's what was said by critics who were too dirt-old by the '70s, alone, to understand what kids were talking about. Shoot, I'm not much more credible, because I can't even begin to get the kids I hate and am not a child of the '60s or '70s, no matter how much I think I am in my own little adorably insane way. Hey, I'm crazy like Jimmy Cooper, so I guess I'm close enough to relating to this rock opera's protagonist, at least more than I am to relating to Tommy from The Who's (Wait, wouldn't the proper way to say it be, "The Whose"?) other big rock opera, what my not being deaf, blind, dumb (I have some friends who would say otherwise), or even as good-looking or as good a vocalist as Roger Daltrey "was" (Sorry, man, but no matter how much you try, in recent years, that vocal rasp and stiff chin are really starting to stick out, and not just literally), which I suppose is fitting, because as much as I had fun with "Tommy", this here is the better Who film, though most certainly not to where my "love reigns o'er it" (Put down your hippity-hoppy junk, kids, and listen to some real music to get it), thanks to quite a few shortcomings. A film like this could have easily dragged its feet something fierce, and lord knows that I feared that this product was going to, so of course I am reasonably relieved to report that the final product isn't as slow as I feared, which isn't to say that this film's managing to evade relatively considerable slow spells lasts for very long, as the film, while rarely, if ever all-out boring, often dries up in atmosphere just enough to spark a degree of disengagement behind meanderings that can admittedly even be found on paper, without dry directorial execution. At about two hours, this film is hardly sprawling, and boasts a broad story concept whose execution could prove to be quite comfortable with a two-hour runtime, but just ends up thinning certain things out, and making up for lost time with excess filler that rather blandly pads things out, until the film is left dragging its feet even when you disregard the cold spots in atmosphere. If nothing else, all of the padding within this film's story structure sparks repetition, which is not so considerable that the film falls flat as near-monotonous, but is pretty much hard to deny, for the final product's often dragging along in circles gives you more than enough time to meditate upon just how thin this story concept is, at least in certain areas. Sure, there is more than a hint of meat on this film's bones, and enough of it for the final product to almost accel as rewarding on the whole, but what really undercuts this film's full potential is its crafting from a promising broad story concept a final story structure that offers only so much in the way of genuine plotting, which, upon finally getting around to arriving, is perhaps too familiar for its own good. The film doesn't necessarily feel all-out generic, probably because there's only so much plot to the final product, while truly generic films of this type are every bit as rich with conventions as they are of events, but there is enough conventionalism behind this film's storytelling to spark predictability. Even if you haven't listened to and somehow managed to fully piece together the story of this film's really good source material rock opera album of the same name, you'd be hard pressed to ignore that this film is heading toward predictable waters (By the ways, this story's non-ending doesn't work as well as it did on the album), and doing so rather aimlessly, meandering along either slowly or with loose and repetitious storytelling, if not both, and after a while, as you can imagine, your investment thins out too much to grasp onto the final product as the rewarding opus that it could have been, and would have been if it was more focused. Still, even with all of its shortcomings, this film ultimately carries on as fairly enjoyable, with enough engagement value to almost reward, and decidedly to keep you going, or at least deliver on rewarding musical aspects. Now, the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle may have been great and all (Why'd you have to do that cocaine, John? You were almost 58 years old!), but The Who wasn't an all out phenomenal band, and yet, I would still consider myself something of a fan, as they were still very good, with more than a few fine diddies under their belt, particularly when it came to the rock opera concept album upon which this film is based, which isn't necessarily great, but told a reasonably intriguing story entertainingly, and helps in doing just that in this film adaptation, whose soundtrack, - which is rich with both Who classics and other delightful '60s pop tunes - to a certain degree, livens up both entertainment value and substance. Needless to say, this film isn't quite as defined by its musicality as "Tommy", but substance is colored up by lively tunes, as well as by striking visuals, because as dated as then-future early Danny Boyle cinematographer Brian Tufano's photographic efforts are in this film, it's not hard to miss the handsome moments in lensing, of which, there are many. Tufano's plays with coloring and lighting may not be crisply well-defined, but they have their share of lovely moments to compliment clever camera plays, and to break up a consistent degree of grit that is, in fact, intentional and itself effective as a compliment to the effectiveness of this film's story, whose value, to be honest, doesn't exactly need to be backed up by a rather distince visual style to be seen. This film's subject matter, even with its unique touches, is all but nothing new at all, yet it is still rather worthy, carrying potential for thematic and dramatic weight that is hardly as fulfilled as it should have been within this executions' meandering storytelling, but made just palpable enough by the moments within Dave Humphries's, Franc Roddam's, Martin Stellman's and Pete Townshend's script, and Roddam's direction, that are genuinely effective. The moments in which the film particularly compels are limited, but they can be found by the patient, who will find the burden of waiting softened considerably a consistent degree of intrigue, which does anything from almost drag the final product out of underwhelmingness, to gracing a potentially unlikable protagonist with genuine compellingness that, in all fairness, wouldn't be what it is without the strength of the person who is directly behind our protagonist. Sure, there are plenty of decent performances throughout this film, but this is a young Phil Daniels' show, and he carries it, delivering on a kind of genuine charisma that sells you on the angst and ambition within the Jimmy Cooper, until, of course, reality come crashing down upon Cooper's head, and gives Daniels the opportunity to deliver on layers and emotional range that may not be as abundant as it probably would have been if Daniels had more material to work with, but really ice the cake when it comes to defining Townshend's symbolic character as a flawed young human. I wish I could say that the film delivers as much as Daniels, who, even then, isn't given enough material to be all that terribly outstanding, but what is done right in this film is hard to deny, powering a flawed and aimless opus just enough for it to sustain your attention more often than not. Bottom line, a promising project is all too often undercut by the slow spells, repetitious padding and plot thinness that spark a kind of aimlessness in storytelling, and emphasize conventionalism within this subject matter, whose predictability helps in rendering the final product somewhat underwhelming, though not so much so that you're not still entertained by a strong soundtrack, aesthetically engaged by a generally striking visual style, and engaged enough by strong spells within leading man Phil Daniels' genuine performance, and within the execution of an often mishandled, but generally intriguing story concept that leaves "Quadrophenia" to stand as enjoyable and sometimes compelling "Who-pla", regardless of its many flaws. 2.75/5 - Decent

Mods vs. Rockers, Battlefield: England, 1960s. Disenchantment with adulthood and responsability hits harder than fists or kicks in the head for a real Mod like Jimmy. A reckless youngman infatuated with the pleasures of his generation, vespas, italian suits, drugs and rock paraphernalia. Deep in my mind I envy him. He had his winning share, at a back alley, a climax, a perfect moment to live for. Hence destruction was unavoidable, there was no turning back, he had to kiss life goodbye with dignity, the kind of dignity winners never get to feel.

As the 1970s wore on The Who increasingly turned their attention from music to filmmaking. Following Ken Russell's Oscar-nominated adaptation of Tommy, the band gained a stake in Shepperton Studios. Here they filmed the final scene of The Kids Are Alright, in what turned out to be Keith Moon's last live performance. After production wrapped on The Kids Are Alright, the group pressed on with adapting their other rock opera, Quadrophenia. In bringing Quadrophenia to the big screen, the band and first-time director Franc Roddam took a completely different approach than they had for Tommy. Ken Russell had a deep-seated interest in opera and classical music: he treated the material as an opera which just happened to have been written by a rock band. The finished product was a divisive mixed bag: amidst some striking imagery and memorable characterisation, there was a lot of bad singing, over-indulgence and naff pomposity. Quadrophenia is more like a coming-of-age film which documents the rise and fall of the original mods. Its storyline interweaves elements of the rock opera out of album order, and its soundtrack balances The Who with other mod favourites like The Kinks, The Ronettes and The Crystals. The film is around 40 minutes longer than the album even with several songs cut out, taking its time to set up the mods' aims, culture and modus operandi. To understand the reasons for this approach, we have to consider the changing circumstances of the band. When Tommy was made, The Who were at the height of their power as a live group; they had both the money and the fame to be a little over-exuberant. Four years later, punk had moved in and swallowed up the younger generation, leaving The Who in a no-man's-land between circus-act obsolescence and risky reinvention. After the death of Keith Moon, the band lost some of its live firepower, so that even if they had wanted to recapture the old ground, they could no longer drown out their rivals. Much of Quadrophenia is about The Who trying to justify their continued existence by examining the foundations of the culture which launched them. Just as The Who were (retrospectively) described as the original punk rock band, so there is an attempt to portray the mods as the direct predecessors of the punks. There is some similarity in their characterisation, as gangs of young people with a unique dress sense, who eschew all authority and are generally unpleasant to anyone outside their inner circle. Roddam even screen-tested Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten for the lead role, but he was dropped because no-one would insure him. Despite this earnest desire to justify themselves, the approach of The Who's surviving members is decidedly hands-off. Unlike Tommy, the band do not appear in person, either as themselves or in character (for instance, Keith Moon playing Uncle Ernie with a worrying amount of relish). We are therefore spared the prospect of Pete Townshend et al playing themselves aged 21, in the manner of Mariah Carey's excremental Glitter. There are only two occasions in which we see the band: once on a poster of Pete Townshend next to Jimmy's bed, the other in an early TV performance from Ready, Steady, Go!. This strange sense of modesty is further reflected in the soundtrack, which was overseen by bassist John Entwistle. In Quadrophenia the songs are mixed right down to serve as background, rather than being the driving force for the action. When 'My Generation' gets played at the house party, you quickly get the mods shouting over it until Roger Daltrey's delivery becomes totally lost. The film is emphasising the effect which this music had rather than the band that created it; we have to focus on Jimmy as a character rather than as a vessel for different aspects of the group. Although this approach may disgruntle purists, the music in Quadrophenia is still of a high quality. Of the seventeen album tracks, ten survive in either their original form or with very slight alterations - for instance, the new bass part and more definitive ending of 'The Real Me', which plays out over the opening credits. The three original compositions which Townshend penned are also up to snuff: they may be more deliberately incidental, but they still feel like Who songs, and the oft-maligned Kenney Jones manages to at least partially replicate Keith Moon's drumming style. Quadrophenia is a character study of a confused young man, who attaches himself to the mods as a means of identity, but starts to go to pieces when they desert him. Early on in the film he meets his childhood friend Kevin (a young Ray Winstone), who has just returned from a spell in the army. Jimmy has a warm bond with Kevin, but whenever his friends turn up he changes his tune and runs with the pack - right down to him fleeing the scene when Kevin is beaten up for being a rocker. The central idea of Quadrophenia is that of youth-led revolution. The mods were the first genuinely post-war teenagers; having no real attachment to the world or values of their parents, they saw no reason to accept the old way of life. The scenes of the Brighton riots are edgy and visceral, showing the gang mentality of both mods and rockers, and the cluelessness of the police who simply don't know how to respond t to a generation that doesn't care. When the magistrate orders him to pay a fine, the Ace Face (played unconvincingly by Sting) responds by getting out his chequebook, causing the whole court to erupt with laughter. But rather than simply glorify the mods, Quadrophenia highlights the dangers of identifying with such a culture too closely. Just as The Who only became truly successful after the mods died away, so Jimmy only gets to see 'the real me' when the scales have fallen from his eyes. Having been thrown out of home, jilted by Lesley Ash and his prized scooter wrecked by a lorry, he decides to return to Brighton. After a drug-fuelled train journey ("out of my brain on the 5:15"), he finds the mods gone and the Ace Face working as a bell boy at the hotel they smashed up. Alienated and depressed, Jimmy throws Ace's scooter off Beachy Head. The scooter, like the mods, is smashed beyond repair, while the fate of Jimmy remains unknown. There are a number of flaws with Quadrophenia. Despite the impressive choreography during the riots, Franc Roddam's direction is not great - the choice of camera angles is rather jobbing and the sequence on the cliffs could have used a couple of big edits. The first hour feels padded out, taking too long to get to Brighton and dragging narratively: there are only so many parties, bars and cafes we need to visit to understand how mod culture works. One scene in particular, of Jimmy and his friends raiding a pharmacy, wanders rather too close to Animal House in its jokes about pills and condoms. Like so many cult films, Quadrophenia is rough around the edges and approaches its subject matter in a manner which is not entirely successful. But as an examination of mod culture it manages to be comprehensive and genuine without totally falling in love with its subject, and it manages to do justice to the album, albeit in a roundabout way. Though Russell is by far the better director, this work had dated much better than Tommy, and it remains a highly influential work of 1970s cinema.

I love the fight scene and of course the music!

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Quadrophenia, common sense media reviewers.

British cult classic has violence, language, drugs, sex.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Few positive messages, with characters fighting an

Jimmy and Kevin are members of rival gangs -- the

Multiple big brawls occur as members of gangs clas

Full-frontal nudity in public bath scene. Lots of

Frequent language includes the "C" word, "f--k off

The band behind the movie, The Who, feature heavil

Amphetamine pills known as "blues" are regularly t

Positive Messages

Few positive messages, with characters fighting and taking drugs, which are often portrayed as positive experiences.

Positive Role Models

Jimmy and Kevin are members of rival gangs -- the Mods and Rockers -- but remain friends until Jimmy lets his gang beat up Kevin. Most young characters engage in degrees of bad behavior, from drugs and fighting to vandalism and disrespecting authority. Adults don't understand the young characters and treat them with scorn. Jimmy feels he has to be part of a group to be someone.

Violence & Scariness

Multiple big brawls occur as members of gangs clash. Characters are seen to enjoy these fights. Some fights involve sticks as weapons and often the violence leads to multiple gang members attacking one individual, with one particularly bloody assault occurring. Police officers are attacked and one is dragged off their horse and beaten up. Teenage character is hit by their parents during an argument before being pushed down stairs. Multiple acts of vandalism, with windows, shops, and cars smashed up by gang members. Motorcyclists are run off the road by intimidating driving.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Full-frontal nudity in public bath scene. Lots of young characters have sex. Many pair off at a house party and each room is full of couples. Daytime outdoor sex scene without nudity. Character masturbates in bed to a photo of a model. Characters' parents discuss sex in bed. Bare breasts shown on bedroom wall posters. Character seen in underwear while using a sun lamp. Couple kiss outside in alleyway. Nude buttocks shown.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent language includes the "C" word, "f--k off," "f--king," "piss off," "bloody," "s--t," "ponce," "arse," "bollocks," and "turd." Crude hand gestures also used. Racial slurs include "wog land," "gollywogs," and "nignogs." Women are called "birds" and talked about in a misogynous and sexist manner. One use of the word "poofs" as an anti-gay slur.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

The band behind the movie, The Who, feature heavily. They are seen performing on TV and posters and record sleeves of the band are shown. They also provide most of the soundtrack.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Amphetamine pills known as "blues" are regularly taken by characters and play a large part in the story. Characters buy blues from drug dealers and break into a pharmacy to steal drugs. The effects are shown mostly in a positive light, with characters enjoying dancing, sex, and music under the influence. Depressed, a character keeps taking drugs, crashes their bike, and has emotional episodes. Character shown disoriented, sitting on bathroom floor under influence of drugs. Character heard vomiting at work the morning after indulging at a party. Many characters smoke cigarettes and some drink alcohol.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Quadrophenia is a 1979 British cult classic about two rival gangs, with multiple violent scenes, strong language, and drug taking. Jimmy ( Phil Daniels ), becomes a member of the Mods, a scooter gang who has a fierce rivalry with the motorcycle-riding Rockers. The two gangs have mass brawls, run each other off the road, and there are some instances of groups attacking single victims. Characters are shown to enjoy the thrill of the violence, which is whipped up by the rivalry between the two gangs. There is also some instances of domestic abuse, including Jimmy's parents hitting him and pushing him down the stairs. Drugs feature heavily with characters generally shown enjoying their effects. But one character has a negative experience when he takes too many pills during a period of high anxiety. Most characters smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. There is constant strong language, including multiple uses of the "C" word. Women are discussed in derogatory terms and there is both racist and homophobic language. There is non-sexual full-frontal male nudity alongside multiple sex scenes. Posters depict topless women and in one scene, a character masturbates over a photo of a model. Central to the movie is an examination of individuality and a sense of belonging. The movie is based on album by British rock band The Who, who feature prominently in the movie -- their record sleeves and posters are depicted on screen while the band also provides the film's soundtrack. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In QUADROPHENIA, it's the mid-1960s and troubled young Mod Jimmy ( Phil Daniels ) is counting down the days before a big battle with his gang's rivals, the Rockers. Before then he needs to get through work, stock up on drugs, and make the most of London's swinging nightlife, while avoiding the pressures of growing up.

Is It Any Good?

In its classic scenes, this British cult drama manages to show all the thrills, highs, and lows of teen life. In what was director Franc Roddam's debut feature, Quadrophenia shows young characters with honesty and no judgement. It is every bit as fun, occasionally ugly, and upsetting as the heady days of discovering early independence and finding a direction in life can be. Boasting a charismatic performance from Daniels and a zippy direction, like Richard Linklater 's Dazed and Confused , the film's characters are concerned with three things: sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll, and their pursuit of these is a fun and honest ride.

If Roddam had been left to make a movie with no strings attached, it could have been a masterpiece as well as a classic. But squatting over the whole thing is the bloated presence of rock band The Who. Released in 1979, the movie was a nostalgic period piece harking back to the mid 1960s, so the movie's rock band producers feature heavily. But other than one scene where a packed club goes wild to My Generation, these scenes just feel shoehorned in. The rest of the early 1960s soundtrack is blissful though, and despite all the violence, tears, and messy decisions, Jimmy and the gang are fun company.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Quadrophenia . Did it feel realistic? Why were the two rival gangs figthing? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

Talk about the strong language used in the movie. Did it seem necessary or excessive? How did it make you feel to hear it, especially the racist and homophobic language? What did it contribute to the movie?

Discuss how drinking, smoking, and drug use were depicted. Were they glamorized? Did the characters need to do these things to look cool? What were the consequences ?

How was sex portrayed in the movie? Was it affectionate? Respectful? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

The movie is considered by many to be a " cult classic ." What makes something a "cult" hit?

Movie Details

In theaters : November 2, 1979
On DVD or streaming : September 25, 2001
Cast : Phil Daniels , Leslie Ash , Phil Davis
Director : Franc Roddam
Studio : Brent Walker Film Distributing
Genre : Drama
Run time : 120 minutes
MPAA rating : R
Last updated : October 8, 2022

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Quadrophenia Review

31 Jan 1997

120 minutes

Quadrophenia

An iconic ode to fallen youth of the Mod variety that has picked up a cult following mainly due to its hip imagery, its so-called grasp of the teen identity, and the fact it was based on an album by The Who, granting Pete Townshend a screenplay credit. There are some fine soap-operatics, and the rough-edged depiction of the period, the mid-‘60s with its fraught air of violence, feels pungently real. And Phil Daniels, in a role he has never quite shaken, is strangely charismatic (given he is supposed to represent the ordinary boy) as the scooter riding anti-hero Jimmy.

Director Franc Roddam is caught between stools, he wants to depict an era he knew well, to give a documentary vibe of headiness and rebellion, building up to a Bank Holiday confrontation with the teddy boys heading for Brighton beach. Yet, he is also having to deal with Townshend’s teen-death-dream thing — a mood piece full of stark symbolism and the much-debated significance of the downer ending. It is not a satisfying fit; the film is youthful and vague, gritty and quite weird.

It’s reputation is better founded on the sharp, compelling recreation of the era, and there are some striking performances to go along with Daniel’s tormented Jimmy: Leslie Ash is frail and beautiful as Steph, the girl who will force Jimmy to re-evaluate for the worse; Gary Shail, Philip Davis and Mark Wingnett froth and bubble with all the bloody-mindedness and energy of bad-youth as his Mod buddies; while Sting looks statuesque and icy without having to do much as Ace Face, a Mod fashion-icon, gang leader and Jimmy’s hero. When he, also, proves to have a humble side to the cool sheen, Jimmy starts to see through the whole mystique of this tribal world. It’s a haunting note, growing up is about losing your ideals.

Quadrophenia

Blu-ray edition reviewed by Chris Galloway
August 27 2012

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The Who’s classic rock opera Quadrophenia was the basis for this invigorating coming-of-age movie and depiction of the defiant, drug-fueled mod subculture of early 1960s London. Our antihero is Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a teenager dissatisfied with family, work, and love. He spends his time knocking around with his clothes-obsessed, pill-popping, scooter-driving fellow mods, a group whose antipathy for the motorcycle-riding rockers leads to a climactic riot in Brighton. Director Franc Roddam’s rough-edged film is a quintessential chronicle of youthful rebellion and turmoil, with Pete Townshend’s brilliant songs (including “I’ve Had Enough,” “5:15,” and “Love Reign O’er Me”) providing emotional support, and featuring Sting and Ray Winstone in early roles.

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Quadrophenia.

VIDEO REVIEW: A restored Blu-ray/DVD of The Who's landmark film recaptures the 1960s.

By Tim Appelo

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Franc Roddam's 1979 film is not about The Who. It's a moody period drama, as obsessively detailed as "Almost Famous," about 1964's English youth scene.

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Quadrophenia.

1979 Directed by Franc Roddam

A Way of Life

Based on the 1973 rock opera album of the same name by The Who, this is the story of 60s teenager Jimmy. At work he slaves in a dead-end job. While after, he shops for tailored suits and rides his scooter as part of the London Mod scene.

Phil Daniels Leslie Ash Phil Davis Mark Wingett Sting Ray Winstone Garry Cooper Gary Shail Toyah Willcox Trevor Laird Kate Williams Michael Elphick Kim Neve Benjamin Whitrow Daniel Peacock Jeremy Child John Phillips Timothy Spall Olivier Pierre George Innes John Bindon P.H. Moriarty Hugh Lloyd Jesse Birdsall Julian Firth Simon Gipps-Kent John Altman Carol Harrison Gary Holton Show All… Glen Murphy John Blundell Linda Regan Cy Town Patrick Murray Peter McNamara

Director Director

Franc Roddam

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Ray Corbett

Producers Producers

John Peverall Roy Baird Bill Curbishley

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Roger Daltrey Pete Townshend John Entwistle Keith Moon David Gideon Thomson

Writers Writers

Martin Stellman Franc Roddam Dave Humphries

Casting Casting

Patsy Pollock

Editors Editors

Sean Barton Mike Taylor

Cinematography Cinematography

Brian Tufano

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Dewi Humphries Jeff Paynter

Lighting Lighting

Martin Evans

Production Design Production Design

Simon Holland

Art Direction Art Direction

Andrew Sanders

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Ken Wheatley

Sound Sound

Bill Rowe John Ireland Christian Wangler

Makeup Makeup

Gilli Wakeford

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Simon Thompson

Polytel The Who Films

Releases by Date

14 may 1979, 14 sep 1979, 25 oct 1979, 02 nov 1979, 09 nov 1979, 19 nov 1979, 23 nov 2011, releases by country.

Premiere Toronto International Film Festival
Premiere Cannes Film Festival
Theatrical 16

Netherlands

Theatrical 12
Physical 12 DVD, Blu ray
Theatrical 18
Theatrical 15
Theatrical R

121 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by sophia ★★★★ 2

MAA THATS THE GUY FROM THE PARKLIFE MUSIC VIDEO

Review by stella ★★★★★

manic pixie dream boy

he had a mental breakdown and then slapped on some eyeliner thats so me

Review by Graham ★★★★★ 9

People try to put us d-down Just because we get around Things they do look awful c-c-cold I hope I die before I get old

Watch #60-something

I just watched the Quadrophenia commentary track on Criterion, spoken by director Franc Roddam and photography director Brian Tufano. In what is clearly a heavily improvised and low budget film, the level of pre-shoot preparation was really impressive.

When this was filmed, most of these characters were unknown. Ace-Face 'Sting' had not yet released an album, Ray Winstone was still new to the scene and the fresh faces of Leslie Ash and Toyah Wilcox were stars still waiting to shine. Turns out that they nearly cast Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols in…

Review by alessandra ★★★★

this movie made me feel nostalgic about times I've never lived. I loved it so much.

Review by k ★★★★

the main character with eyeliner on in that train scene > francis ford coppola's entire filmography

Review by RatJacko ★★½ 1

british is an illness and the 60s were a pandemic

Review by maddie ★★★★½

We are the mods, we are the mods, we are, we are, we are the mods

My driving instructor grew up in London in the 60s and said that this film is an exact depiction of how things were, and now I know that no matter how hard I try, I will never be as cool as him

Review by Justin Peterson ★★½ 8

Criterion Collection Spine #624

Other than some great picturesque cinematography and a few classic rock tunes, there was not a whole lot for me to latch onto in this angsty story of teenage rebellion.

"We are the Mods! We are the Mods! We are, we are, we are the Mods!"

I was really hoping for more rock opera from The Who's Quadrophenia, and not so much of the slice of life and personal problems of our ass hole lead character Jimmy. Thinking back on it, much of what annoyed me about these characters was similar to what I did not like about 'Withnail and I'. Maybe whiny people constantly saying 'fuck off' is just not my thing.

I found Jimmy's…

Review by Jerry McGlothlin ★★★ 3

“YOU’VE KILLED ME SCOOTER!!!”

Unequivocally, unquestionably, without a doubt the most British movie ever made. Banger upon banger soundtrack and a cast that was stacked beyond belief make Quadrophenia a must-see, though my semi-recent inability to emotionally connect with a rage-fueled youth persists, in spite of my embodiment of these exact kinds of characters in my own younger days. Love the finale though, and the grimy authenticity is undeniable; evocative of an era long before my time, yet almost-palpable from its depiction here. I don’t think I will ever be able to listen to “Love Reign o’er Me” again without this movie popping into my mind, so I think it did its job.

Review by tru

Oi! The music's good, innit?

Review by artur 🇧🇷 ★★★★ 1

this happened to me mate eric innit

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Eye For Film >> Movies >> Quadrophenia (1979) Film Review

Quadrophenia

Reviewed by: Merlin Harries

The Mod and the Rocker were two of the most iconic images of the 20th century. The clash of designer threads with scruffy jeans and a leather jacket, the aesthetic conflict between a stylish Vespa scooter and a roaring Triumph motorcycle all complemented the vicious and often deadly rivalry between the two tribes.

Quadrophenia is old school cool all the way with the feisty relations between the two gangs providing a backdrop for angst-ridden teenager Jimmy’s (Phil Daniels) personal quest for thrills and spills. Along with Dave (Mark Wingett), Chalky (Philip Davis) and Spider (Gary Shail) the Mods descend on Brighton for a Bank Holiday Weekend filled with drugs, booze and violence, the only problem being that the Rockers are in town too!

Although critically panned upon its release in 1979 Franc Roddam’s feature directorial debut has since become a cult classic. The abundance of sex, violence and drugs were seen as vulgar and unnecessary by a country only just recovering from the mammoth hangover of the Sixties. As years have gone by though, the film has become increasingly popular and is deemed by many to be among the most influential British films of all time along the likes of Trainspotting and Withnail and I .

At the very centre of the film, along with a masterful and mesmerising performance by a young Phil Daniels, is social and political introspection of Seventies culture. The sheer disenfranchisement of young Britain is accentuated through the medium of gang culture and Jimmy’s journey is largely indicative of that of the country as a whole. Our protagonist's initial quest for a sense of purpose culminates in the realisation that the modus operandi of Mod society is hollow prompting Jimmy to thoroughly trash the scooter of Mod messiah Ace Face (Sting).

Roddam’s picture is a tour de force and rightly claims its place among the cannon of cult British films. From the Seventies onward into the Nineties the lasting influence of Quadrophenia can be seen throughout this country's cinema and more particularly in the work of Danny Boyle and Nick Love . The fervent debate over the films climactic scenes - regarding the 'real' end of the movie - only serves to illustate the passionate following the film now enjoys.

If you’re after a movie to rock your world then Quadrophenia is the ticket, for all its pomp, style and youthful vigour, it is a film that forces us to ask questions of both ourselves and the society we live in. If you’re not in the mood for existential questions on life in the seventies then simply sit back and enjoy a truly masterful film, and more importantly the legend that is Sting!

Director: Franc Roddam

Writer: Franc Roddam, Dave Humphries

Starring: Phil Daniels, Sting, Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox, Ray Winstone, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Kate Williams, Trevor Laird, Gary Shail, Garry Cooper

Runtime: 115 minutes

Country: UK

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News & Features

Quadrophenia review

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Teen angst, eh? Quadrophenia does it proud. It's London in the '60s, and two of youth's more distinct factions, both of them bred on banality, set about making their mark on the world. They do this with fists and bikes. The Mods, lovers of the Parka and Lambretta, like beating up the Rockers, and the Rockers like beating up the Mods.

Jimmy (Phil Daniels) escapes into a modish, Modish way of life because - as must happen in cult youth films - his folks "just don't understand". He also - - as must happen in cult youth films - - seeks solace in the company of girls, and one fair strumpet in particular. But Steph (the pocket-sized Leslie Ash) isn't the sort of lass who goes for just any troubled/disillusioned guy, and her ignoring him at a club sends Jimmy over the edge: watched by Sting (whose acting debut sees the Police front man swinging his arms from side to side in a rough approximation of dancing), Phil throws himself off the balcony and into the crowd. Henceforth, Leslie is his...

This is the anarchic verve, cleverly harnessed by director Franc Roddam, that established Quadrophenia as a "youth cult classic", and that raw energy is still tangible today. But is a re-release justified?

Yes, it is. Realism suffers at the hands of The Who's weird storyline, and some will find the near-endless moralising too much to stomach, but without this sort of find-the-message mentality, teen films just wouldn't be teen films - and Quadrophenia is definitely the kind that sets out to inspire the nation's youth. Whether it succeeds depends on how much you need to be inspired, but what this punk-era curio does deliver is the heady smell of teen spirit.Danny Wallace

If you can't follow the off-the-wall storyline or turn a blind eye to the dated subject matter, why not think of Quadrophenia as a retro Trainspotting? Roddam's raw direction is excellent, as is Daniels' scowling Jimmy. Worth watching just to see well-known TV and pop stars beating the crap out of each other.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.

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Quadrophenia

Jimmy Cooper loathes his dead-end job and his working-class parents. He seeks solace with his mod clique, scooter riding, and drugs, only to be disappointed.
Director Franc Roddam has assembled an array of young British acting talents who bring back London's 1960s Mods and Rockers. Set against the soundtrack of The Who's high-concept album "Quadrophenia", Phil Daniels plays working-class Jimmy Cooper, a drug-using Mod who hates his job and is taken the wrong way by his parents. But by night, he comes alive with the all-nighters, his amphetamine pills, and his scooter-riding friends; he's always on a high, and life cannot get any better. Then comes the Brighton Scooter Run, where the Mods and the Rockers converge, ending in the Battle of the Cults on Brighton Beach. What goes up must come down, and with Jimmy's come-down, his life is turned around, and so begins his downward spiral into paranoia, isolation, and the four-faceted mindset: Quadrophenia. With its extremely realistic language, violent overtones, and classic 1960s soundtrack, this illness is bound to be contagious. Come along for the ride. — Cinema_Fan
Jimmy Cooper, loathing his dead-end job and dead-end parents, is primed to go off the edge. The Lambretta scooter, bespoke suit and the other trappings of being Mod make for a subversive rebellion against his working-class surroundings. But even the amphetamine pills and fleeting moments with his mates don't ease the assault of growing pains that are deepening his alienation. This only gets messier when he finally joins one of the headline seaside clashes of 1964 between the Mods and their mortal enemies, the motorcycle-cruising, leather-clad Rockers. However, a reality check of his idol, the smooth Ace Face hastens Jimmy's identity crisis. This human drama, adapted from and featuring The Who's seminal album "Quadrophenia", bursts with all the tragic frustration and irrepressible euphoria of youth on the verge of adulthood. — Rhino Home Video
The film takes place in 1964 and follows the life of Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels), a young London Mod. Disillusioned by his parents and a dull job as a post room boy in an advertising firm, Jimmy finds an outlet for his teenage angst by taking amphetamines, partying, riding scooters and brawling with Rockers, accompanied by his Mod friends Dave (Mark Wingett), Chalky (Philip Davis) and Spider (Gary Shail). One of the Mods' rivals, the Rockers, is in real life Jimmy's childhood friend, Kevin Herriot (Ray Winstone). An attack by hostile Rockers on Spider leads to a retaliation attack on Kevin. Jimmy initially participates in the beating, but upon realising the victim is Kevin, he berates the other attackers but does not stop them, instead riding away on his scooter. A bank holiday weekend provides the excuse for the rivalry between Mods and Rockers to come to a head, as they both descend upon the seaside town of Brighton. Jimmy plans to be noticed as a 'face', and hints to Steph (Leslie Ash) -- a girl on whom he has a crush -- that he would like her to ride with him, but she confirms plans to ride instead with Pete (Garry Cooper), an older, well-heeled Mod. To prepare for the weekend, the friends attempt to buy some recreational drugs from London gangster Harry North (John Bindon), but are cheated with fake pills. After vandalizing the drug-dealer's car from retaliation, they desperately rob a pharmacy, finding a large quantity of their favorite "blues". After an early morning group ride from London to the south coast, the friends gather on the seafront, where Jimmy first sees a flamboyant scooter-riding Mod known as Ace Face (Sting). Later in a dance hall, Jimmy suggests that he will help Steph, whose escort is now chatting to an attractive American girl, to dance with Ace Face, whereupon Jimmy plots to gain attention by climbing up on the balcony-edge and dancing with much applause, annoying Ace Face. After diving into the audience, Jimmy is ejected by bouncers. Steph's escort leaves with the American girl, and once again Jimmy attempts to get with Steph, this time for the night, but she has arranged accommodation with a female friend. The friends spend the night sleeping rough, meet up at a cafe on the following morning, then proceed along the promenade, where a series of running battle ensue. As the police corner the rioters, Jimmy escapes down an alleyway with Steph, and they have sex. When the pair emerge, they find themselves in the middle of the melee just as police are detaining rioters. Jimmy is arrested and detained with a volatile Ace Face, and later fined the then-large sum of £50. When fined with a hefty £75, Ace Face mocks the magistrate by offering to pay on the spot with a cheque, impressing the fellow Mods. Back in London, Jimmy becomes severely depressed. His mother throws him out after she finds his stash of amphetamine pills. He then quits his job, spends his severance package on more pills, and finds out that Steph has become Dave's girlfriend. After briefly fighting with Dave, the following morning his rejection is confirmed by Steph, and his beloved Lambretta scooter is accidentally damaged in a crash involving a Royal Mail parcel van. Jimmy takes a train back to Brighton, taking increasing levels of pills and becoming emotionally unstable. In an attempt to relive the recent excitement, he revisits the scenes of the riots and his encounter with Steph. To his horror, Jimmy discovers that his idol, Ace Face, in real life has a menial job as a bellboy at the Grand Brighton Hotel. As a response, Jimmy steals Ace's Vespa scooter and heads out to Beachy Head, where he rides perilously close to the cliff edge. For a time, he appears to be having an enjoyable ride in the sunshine, but then he stops the scooter and glares miserably at the sea. Finally, he crashes the scooter over a cliff, which is where the film begins, with Jimmy walking back from the cliff top into the sunset backdrop.

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Quadrophenia by The Who

Album Reviews 1973 Albums , 2013 Reviews , Album Reviews by Ric Albano , British Artists , Pete Townshend , The Who 4

Buy Quadrophenia

Townshend has stated that the idea for Quadrophenia evolved from an idea for an autobiographical concept album titled “Rock Is Dead, Long Live Rock!” in 1972 with songs such as “Join Together”, “Relay” and “Long Live Rock” along with the first compositions that ended up on the album. Townshend instead decided to create a character named Jimmy with four personalities that reflected those of the band members, each associated with a “theme” which recurs throughout the album.

While not as cohesive or focused as Who’s Next and not as popular as Tommy , this may be the ultimate Who album due to its sheer breadth and ambition Townshend expanded fully from his traditional guitar-centric approach to include pianos and keyboards as prominent lead instruments. Meanwhile, lead vocalist Roger Daltrey is in top form, carrying many of the songs while delicately working through the multiple character parts reflected in several of the extended songs. Further, Townshend considers this the best produced Who album ever, due in part to the professional techniques of Kit Lambert along with the innovative ones done by himself.

The instrumental “I Am the Sea” acts as overture with snippets of vocals of future songs over ocean and rain sounds, Townshend went out and recorded these sounds personally at various locations in England. “The Real Me” is the first “real” song, driven by a guitar riff and an impressive bass performance by John Entwistle , which was recorded in one take. Lyrically, this song acts as an introduction to Jimmy Cooper, his four personalities, his visits to a psychiatrist, and his domestic situation. Another long instrumental follows with the title track “Quadrophenia”, which kind of distracts the listener by having another instrumental so close to the intro, especially since this one is so theatrical.

The first side finishes with two very strong tunes. “Cut My Hair” is the first song to introduce a historical perspective, as the lyric details the Mod fashion and a radio broadcast near the end speaks of an actual riot in Brighton between Mods and Rockers. Sung by Townshend, this is a real good theatrical tune and contains great synth effects. “The Punk Meets the Godfather” is a pure climatic rock with great sound and lyrics and the first of several great performances on the album by drummer Keith Moon . In fact, this song may be “Exhibit A” that The Who can never really be The Who without Entwistle and Moon.

“I’m One” begins the original second side with a country-ish acoustic ballad with great ethereal guitar tone in the background, before it breaks into a much more upbeat tune. The introspective lyrics contemplate how the protagonist has not much going for him except for the Mod lifestyle. “The Dirty Jobs” is one of the great unheralded songs on Quadrophenia , led by a fantastic vocal performance by Daltrey and innovative, melodic synths throughout, which pretty much replace guitars as the lead instrument on this song.

“Helpless Dancer” is the oddest song on first two sides, a march-like approach with horns, piano, and a short acoustic part in the middle. All four members have a theme song relating to one of Jimmy’s personalities, and this one is Daltrey’s theme as the “Tough Guy”. The song ends with a short snippet of one of the band’s earliest hits, “The Kids Are Alright”. “Is It in My Head?” is a moderate and catchy acoustic song, which leads to “I’ve Had Enough”. Going through several phases, like some of the extended pieces on Tommy , “I’ve Had Enough” morphs from from a driving rock verse to the string infused “Love Reign O’er Me” part to the banjo-led hook part. Daltry carries the tune vocally, aptly setting the differing moods of the song.

The narrative continues with “Drowned”, a philosophical theme about losing one’s self in the ocean, in a suicidal attempt to become one with God. Set to upbeat music with great rotating piano, guitar licks, and more great drums. In fact, this may Moon’s best performance on the album, and that is saying something. “Drowned” is also the oldest song on Quadrophenia , initially written as an ode to Meher Baba in early 1970. Moon’s theme, “Bellboy” completes side three. It starts as a standard rocker with Daltrey at vocals before the song gets taken over by Moon’s comical yet effective vocals. Lyrically it tells of a former Mod hero of Jimmy’s who has “sold out” and become a pathetic bellboy at a Brighton resort.

Entwistle’s theme is the “Is It Me?” part of “Doctor Jimmy” (which also shows up at various points of the album). With synthesized fiddle effects, horns, and great bass, this ambiguous loose reference to “Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” speaks again of the multiple personalities running through the story, but with alcohol being catalyst for the change. The longest song on the album, Daltrey effectively plays both roles vocally. “The Rock” acts as both a long intro to final song and recap of much of the previous material, much like “Underture” from Tommy . In truth, “The Rock” is a bit of over-indulgent filler. The final song “Love, Reign O’er Me” is Townshend’s theme on the album, which again delves into the philosophy of Meher Baba as Jimmy finds his “true self” while on a stolen boat, during a storm in the sea. The song begins with some classical piano and orchestral instrumentations, later giving way to great synth effects and lead guitars, all by Townshend. But it is Daltrey’s vocal performance which has gained the best critical response, with many considering this song the finest performance of his career.

Quadrophenia reached #2 on the U.S. album charts, the highest ever for The Who, kept from the top spot by Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road . In 1979, the film Quadrophenia was released but focused more on the story than the music, which was relegated to mere background during certain scenes. Although the band viewed the original tour in support of the album as disastrous due to ineffective techniques of including synthesizers live in 1973, they revisited Quadrophenia in the future with a dedicated tour in 1996, and most recently this past November (2012), where the album was played in its entirety along with a few selected hits during the encore.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1973 albums.

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Above the Sweet Tea Line by The Tucos | Modern Rock Review June 27, 2016 @ 9:02 am

[…] with many of the same qualities as the intro of the song, “I’m One”, from The Who’s Quadrophenia, albeit this track never relents from its basic arrangement. “Trouble In Paradise”, is […]

"Long Live Rock" by The Who | River of Rock August 15, 2017 @ 7:36 pm

[…] the Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock project was ultimately scrapped with 1973’s double album Quadrophenia ultimately filling the role of revisiting the band’s early history. “Long Live […]

You have “Roger Waters – Lead Vocals” for this album.

Thanks for catching this mistake, we’ve updated it.

Quadrophenia (The movie)

The movie Quadrophenia is a 1979 British drama film loosely based on the Who´s 1973 rock opera double album of the same name.

The Who does not appear live in the movie, and it is not a musical in the way its predecessor Tommy was.

The film Quadrophenia stars Phil Daniels as the main character Jimmy, a young working-class mod who detests his boring job as a post room boy and ditches it for a world of partying, drug use, romance, scooter riding and engaging in fights between mods and rockers. The movie is set in London and Brighton in 1964.

Several discrete references to the Who appear throughout he movie. Here are a few examples:

A repackaged the Who album can be seen, one that had not been released in 1964.
A clip is shown where the band performs “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” on the TV series Ready Steady Go!
In his bedroom, Jimmy has pictures of the Who and a Maximum R&B poster.
“My Generation” is inlcuded during a party gatecrashing scene.

As of April 2022, Quadrophenia has a 100% Tomatometer score at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 reviews. It also has an 82% audience score, based on 2,500+ ratings.

Short facts about the 1979 film Quadrophenia

World premier: 14 September 1979 in Toronto, Canada
UK premier: 2 November, 1979
Director: Franc Roddam
Producer: Roy Baird, Bill Curbishley
Based on: The 1973 double-album Quadrophenia by the Who
Screenplay: Dave Humphries, Franc Roddam, Marting Stellman, Pete Townshend
Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Sting, Ray Winstone
Cinematography: Brian Tufano
Edited by: Sean Barton, Mike Taylor
Music by: The Who, and various other artists
Choreographer: Jeff Dexter
Production company: The Who Films Ltd
Distributed by: Brent Walker Film Distributing
Length: 120 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Budget: £2 million

The movie is set in London and Brightion in 1964, during a period when a lot of working-class youth in England identified as either mods or rockers, and sought out conflicts with each other.

Broadly speaking, the mods typically wore sharp suits, listen to pop and soul, rode scooters, and had a pechant for amphetamins. The rockers wore leather jackets, listened to 1950s rock´n roll, and prefered to ride powerful British motorcycles such as BSA and Triumph.

Jimmy Cooper, the film´s main character, is an adolescent mod (played by Phil Daniels) raised by working-class parents in London. He is not on good terms with his family and he detests his boring job as a post room boy at an advertising firm. Instead of working, he wants to party, enjoy amphetamines, ride his Lambretta scooter, and fight rockers – preferably with his mod friends Dave (Mark Wingett), Chalky (Philip Davis) and Spider (Gary Shail).

Jimmy Cooper and his scooter

In the film, rockers attack Spider, which leads to a revenge attack on the rocker Kevin (Ray Winstone), who also happens to be a childhood friend of Jimmy. After realising they are attacking his own childhood friend, Jimmy stops participating in the revenge fight and bereates the other attackers. Instead of stayign around in an attempt to stop the fight, Jimmy then leaves the scene on his scooter.

For the upcoming bank holiday weekend, both mods and rockers decide to travel to the seaside town Brighton. Jimmy hints to his crush Steph (Leslie Ash) that he would like her to ride to Brighton with him, but she instead choses to ride with the older and more prosperous mod Peter (Garry Cooper).

After being sold fake drugs by the London gangster Harry North (John Bindon), the mod friends vandalises North´s car in retaliation before robbing a pharmacay and getting their hands on a large quantiy of of pills.

At a dance in Brighton, Peter starts flirting with a pretty foreign girl, neglecting Steph. Jimmy suggests that he will help Steph dance with the flamboyant mod Ace Face (played by Sting),

but once they are on the dancefloor he ushers her away and dances on alone. When Steph goes to dance with Ace Face, Jimmy dances on the balcony-edge for attention, which earns him much applause but also annoys Ace Face. After diving into the audience, Jimmy is kicked out of the dance by the bouncers. When Peter leaves with the foreign girl, Jimmy attempts to get Steph to spend the night with him, but she has arranged to stay with a female friend.

The mod lads spends the night outdoors, before taking a long morning walk along the Brighton promenade. Riots brakes out, but Jimmy manages to escape the police down an alleyway together with Steph and they have sex.

When Jimmy and Steph returns, they end up in the aftermath of the riot and Jimmy is arrested together with Ace Face. When fined £75 (equivalent to £1,600 in 2020), Ace Face mocks the magistrate (John Phillips) by offering to pay on the spot.

Jimmy returns to London and falls into a deep depression. After finding his amphetamine pills, his mother throws him out. Jimmy quits his jobs, spends his severance package on more amphetamine, and learns that Steph is now in a relationship with his mod friend Dave. Jimmy briefly fights Dave, Steph confirms her disinterest in Jimmy, and Jimmy´s cherished scooter is destroyed in an accidental crash.

Jimmy returns to Brighton by train, taking increasing amounts of amphetamine pills. He revisits the riot scene and the place where he had sex with Steph, before learning that Ace Face – who he admires – has a menial job as a bellboy at a hotel.

Disillusioned with life and with the amphetamine pills wreaking havoc with his mental state, Jimmy steals Ace Face´s Vespa scooter and drives to Beachy Head, where he rides close to the cliff-edge. The scooter is seen crashing over the cliff-top, which is where the film begins with Jimmy walking back against a sunset backdrop.

Phil Daniels as Jimmy Cooper
Leslie Ash as Steph
Philip Davis as Chalky
Mark Wingett as Dave
Sting as Ace Face
Ray Winstone as Kevin Herriot, Jimmy’s childhood friend
Gary Shail as Spider
Garry Cooper as Peter Fenton, Steph’s boyfriend
Toyah Willcox as Monkey
Trevor Laird as Ferdy
Andy Sayce as Kenny
Kate Williams as Mrs Cooper, Jimmy’s mother
Michael Elphick as Mr George Cooper, Jimmy’s father
Kim Neve as Yvonne Cooper, Jimmy’s sister
Benjamin Whitrow as Mr Fulford, Jimmy’s employer
Daniel Peacock as Danny
Jeremy Child as Agency Man
John Phillips as Magistrate
Timothy Spall as Harry the Projectionist
Patrick Murray as Des the projectionist assistant
George Innes as Cafe Owner
John Bindon as Harry North, gangster
P. H. Moriarty as Barman at Villain Club
Hugh Lloyd as Mr Cale
Gary Holton as aggressive Rocker 1
John Altman as Johnny ‘John the Mod’ Fagin
Jesse Birdsall as aggressive Rocker 2
Olivier Pierre as Jimmy and Danny’s tailor
Julian Firth as drugged up Mod
Simon Gipps-Kent as party host (uncredited)
Mickey Royce as Ken ‘Jonesy’ Jones
Dave Cash as newsreader (uncredited)
John Blundell as the Rockers leader (uncredited)
The film was almost cancelled when the Who durmmer Keith Moon died in September 1978.
Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) of the Sex Pistols screen-tested for the role of Jimmy, but the film distributor refused to insure him.
All scenes except one was shot on location.
The location in Brighton where the characters Jimmy and Steph have sex in the movie is now nicknamed “Quadrophenia Alley”. You´ll find it between East Street and Little East Street.
The ballroom and club scenes were choreographed by Jeff Dexter, who also choreographed Sting´s feet for his dance close-ups but recieved official credit for neither. Dexter was a club dancer and disc jockey in the London music scene in the 1960s, and he can be seen as the DJ in the club scenes in Quadrophenia.
The original script had a character played by the black actor Trevor Laird appear in a party scene, kissing and having sex with a white woman. This was excluded because the associate producer John Peverall was concerned that it could cause problems with the film´s distribution in South Africa and southern United States. According to actor Toyah Wilcox, cast members discussed going on strike over the change.
Most of the cast participated in The Quadrophenia Reunion at the Lonon Film & Comic Con in London on 1-2 September 2007.

The sundtrack album for the movie is also called Quadrophenia. The album contains 10 of the 17 tracks from the original 1973 album, but the mixes are not the same as on the 1973 album. For the soundtrack, John Entwistle remixed the ten tracks in 1979.

The soundtrack also includes three tracks by the Who that are not on the 1973 album: “Four Faces “, “Get Out and Stay Out” and “Joker James”.

The soundtrack was released by Polydor Records in 1979 on cassette and LP.
It was released on CD in 1993 and then again in 2001.

Quadrophenia was released on DVD in 1999 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, with an 8-minute montage featurette. This release of Quadrophenia was based on the VHS print, and was therefore fairly low in quality.

In the United States, Rhino Home Video released a special edition DVD set in 2001 which included a remastered letterboxed wide screen transfer, a commentary, several interviews, galleries, and a quiz. Regretably, it was a shorter cut of the film, with several minutes of footage missing.

In 2006, Universal released a Region 2 two-disc special edition of Quadrophenia. This time, the movie was digitally remastered and the complete, longer version of the film was used. This special edition includes new commentary by Franc Roddam, Phil Daniels and Leslie Ash. On Disc 2, you´ll find an hour-long documentary andfeaturette where Roddam talks about the different locations.

In 2012, the Criterion Collection released a special edition version of Quadrophenia on both DVD and Blu-ray.

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Quadrophenia

By Lenny Kaye

Q uadrophenia is the Who at their most symmetrical, their most cinematic, ultimately their most maddening. Captained by Pete Townshend , they have put together a beautifully performed and magnificently recorded essay of a British youth mentality in which they played no little part, lushly endowed with black and white visuals and a heavy sensibility of the wet-suffused air of 1965.

Nonetheless, the album fails to generate a total impact because of its own internal paradox: Instead of the four-sided interaction implicit in the title and overriding concept, Quadrophenia is itself the product of a singular (albeit brilliant) consciousness. The result is a static quality which the work never succeeds in fully overcoming. Townshend has taken great pains with the record, has carried it within him for over a year, has laboriously fitted each piece of its grand scale in place. Yet in winning the battle, he’s lost the war and more’s the pity.

The hero of Quadrophenia is Jimmy, a young motor-scooted Mod in the throes of self-doubt and alienation. Unlike Tommy, to whom he’s destined to be inevitably compared, Jimmy is no simplistic parable or convenient symbol. His loner qualities set him apart from both friends and foes, and though he’s more than willing to be led, somehow even that security seems to elude him. Torn between identities, Townshend has gifted him with four, all competing for top seed in Jimmy’s confused psyche. In one he is forceful and determined, a master of his fate; another finds him full of brazen daring and rollicking jingoism; yet another softens and romanticizes his nature, giving him a quiet inner strength; and still another reveals him as insecure, searching, the promise of salvation granted and hovering over the next hillrise.

Such is quadrophenia, schizophrenia times two, and Townshend maneuvers this conflict on several levels, each to noticeably good (if fairly evident) effect. Most important of these manifold hooks is the Mod generation out of which the Who sprang, and only secondary (though admittedly the most personally interesting) is the Who itself, four themes (“Helpless Dancer,” “Bell Boy,” “Is It Me?” and “Love Reign O’er Me”) wrestling, congealing, splitting apart throughout the album. As for Jimmy, his frustration at being unable to resolve his separate selves suddenly overwhelms him, so that he smashes his scooter, flees to Brighton on the shore, finally putting to sea in a boat with the vague aim of suicide. This is where we find him at the beginning of side one, lost amidst his flashbacks and disjointed memories, and this is where we leave him, on a note of spiritual uplift and transcendence, at the end.

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These are not new concerns for the Who, by any means. Whereas the Kinks always seemed preoccupied with the staid and comfortable middle class in an archetypal love-hate relationship, Townshend and Co. early on turned an affectionate camera eye to their contemporaries, culminating in such landmark classics as “Substitute,” “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere” and a flailing “My Generation” yet to be equaled in definitive power.

Quadrophenia, in taking that time in retrospect and examining its implications, lingers over the artifacts of the period as if they might in themselves provide a clue. Tea kettles whistle over the ominous voicings of the BBC, hints of the Who in concert cut in and out of Jimmy’s fragmented dreamings, slim and checked jackets mingle with seersucker and neatly cut hair. To the American mind, Quadrophenia might thus seem as strange as portions of American Graffiti could appear to English experience, but it’s to be assured that the appeal of semi-nostalgic shared memories must perforce work as well for one as the other.

It is to Townshend’s credit that his is not a disengaged overview, pious and self-righteous after all these years. In seeking to understand Jimmy, he apparently is also trying to understand the roots of the Who, its attraction as rallying point and its eventual rejection by such as Jimmy (“The Punk Meets the Godfather”) and — more appropriately — himself. To set the stage for Jimmy’s final leap to faith, Townshend must question why the religion of rock & roll (as well as GS scooters and purple hearts) had to be replaced by something less temporal and untrustworthy, detail the steps toward the higher goal, describe its draining holocaust.

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The interior episodes where all this is hashed out are the most successful on Quadrophenia, impeccably outlined by Townshend and stunningly executed by the Who. Jimmy attempts to mesh with his family, his peer group, his girl, and yet remains an outsider, wondering why in his just-so clothes “the other tickets look much better/Without a penny to spend they dress to the letter.” Meeting an old idol on the beach, now reduced to subserving as a local hotel bellboy, he is moved to remember: “Ain’t you the guy who used to set the paces/Riding up in front of a hundred faces?”

An effective moment, yet when judged against the broader scope of Quadrophenia it seems as if all Townshend has constructed is a series of such effective moments. Pete, for better or worse, is possessed of a logic riveting in its linearity, and if in effect we are being placed in the mind of an emotionally distressed adolescent, neither the texture of the music nor the album’s outlook is able to rise to this challenge of portraiture. Despite the varied themes, Jimmy is only seen through Townshend’s eyes, geared through Townshend’s perceptions, and the aftermath as carried through four sides becomes a crisis of concept, the album straining to break out of its enclosed boundaries and faltering badly.

This is reflected in the songs themselves, vastly similar in mode and construction, running together with little differential to separate them. Only a few stand on their own as among the best the Who have done (“The Real Me,” “Is It in My Head?,” “5:15,” the Townshend theme of “Love Reign O’er Me”), and of those it’s interesting to note that several are holdovers from the lost Who album Glyn Johns and the band worked on before the onset of Quadrophenia. Also, given the inordinately complex personalities that make up the group, little is sensed of any Moon, Entwhistle or Daltrey contributions to the whole. Their roles are subdued, backing tracks when they should rise to shoulder the lead, pressed on all fronts by the sweep of Townshend’s imagination.

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On other Who albums this might be acceptable, even welcome; surely Pete has been the Who’s guiding force, their hindsight and hellbound inspiration. It is his mastermind that has created the tour-de-force recording breakthroughs of the album, the realistic and panoramic landscape of pre-Carnaby Street England, arranged the setting so that each member of the band could give full vent to his vaunted and highly unique instrumental prowess. Indeed, it might easily be said that the Who as a whole have never sounded better, both ensemble and solo, proving unalterable worth and relevance in an age that has long passed others of their band’s generation into fragments of history.

But on its own terms, Quadrophenia falls short of the mark. Jimmy Livingston Seagull, adrift on a stormless sea, with only his shattered wings and sharded memories to keep him company — so close, and yet so far.

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Concrete Utopia review – tense dystopian Korean thriller is bitter housing crisis satire

Set in the last residential tower block remaining in Seoul, this South Korean genre film puts the city’s haves and have-nots into deadly competition

A nother day, another strong Korean genre film. And it’s another one treading the territory of social atavism, where that country’s films and TV always make a firm impact, from Snowpiercer to The King of Pigs to Squid Game . South Korea’s entrant for the 2024 international feature film Oscar, Um Tae-hwa’s Concrete Utopia is a bitter satire on its recent housing bubble. It is set in a devastated, pallid, post-apocalyptic Seoul where only a single tower block remains standing. National icon Lee Byung-hun (Joint Security Area, Squid Game) is on fantastic form as the tyrannical “Delegate” running the show inside the building.

The exact nature of what has wrecked Seoul is vague, with an earthquake mentioned and a giant pyroclastic cloud on show in the disaster scenes. Nor does it make a whole lot of sense that Hwang Gung Apartments isn’t immediately overrun by the millions of survivors outside. But that’s all pragmatic short-cutting in the interests of a neat allegory for haves and have-nots (while the destruction itself is also maybe a metaphor for the catastrophic energy of an overheated property market). Lee’s Delegate Kim – appointed after preventing a fire – rallies the apartment holders to turf out any outsiders. Soon even the nurturing Min-sung (Park Seo-joon), who initially takes in a pair of refugees, is on guard against the “cockroaches” and convinced of his own God-given superiority.

The focus on inside and outside, normality and dehumanisation, is oddly reminiscent of The Zone of Interest, the winner of the 2024 Oscar for best international feature fillms. (And both films feature a very similar showcase retching scene.) But Um also combines capitalist-inequality needling with a more communistic kind of satire. The residents are supposedly equal but are all too eager to cede authority and responsibility to Delegate Kim. “You look sexy!” someone says of his bloodied face after he faces down the evicted riff-raff, and with rock-star charisma a viable post-apocalyptic social currency, a personality cult is soon in force.

Initially operating with the kind of disconcerting jollity with which Korean films often approach trauma, Concrete Utopia becomes increasingly tense and serious. The film not only casts light on the self-mythologising roots of power – as Min-sung’s meek wife Myung-hwa (Park Bo-young) digs into the Delegate’s past – but also how such lies eventually corrupt and pervert everyone in the vicinity. If George Orwell had had a career stint as a Korean estate agent, this is the kind of story he might have turned out.

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IMAGES

Quadrophenia (1979) Review
Quadrophenia Movie Review
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‎Quadrophenia (1979) directed by Franc Roddam • Reviews, film + cast
Quadrophenia Movie Review
Quadrophenia

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Quadrophenia Film Locations Revisited July 2017
Phenomena (1985) 4K HDR
Quadrophenia Memorabilia Collection ( The Who 5:15 )
Quadrophenia (1979)

COMMENTS

Quadrophenia
Movie Info. An angst-ridden London youth, Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels) escapes the drudgery of his postal job as a member of the Mods, a sharply dressed gang constantly at odds with their rivals ...
Quadrophenia (1979)
Quadrophenia (1979) *** (out of 4) The Who's 1973 rock opera was turned into a feature film and centers on Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a teenager in the U.K. who deals with a wide range of issues but most of them surrounding growing up in the era. QUADROPHENIA, the album, is considered one of the band's greatest as well as one of the greatest ever made. I never was a big fan of the film TOMMY but I ...
Quadrophenia Movie Review
Parents Need to Know. Parents need to know that Quadrophenia is a 1979 British cult classic about two rival gangs, with multiple violent scenes, strong language, and drug taking. Jimmy (Phil Daniels), becomes a member of the Mods, a scooter gang who has a fierce rivalry with the motorcycle-riding Rockers. The two gangs have mass….
Quadrophenia (film)
Quadrophenia is a 1979 British drama film, based on the Who's 1973 rock opera of the same name.It was directed by Franc Roddam in his feature directing début.Unlike the adaptation of Tommy, Quadrophenia is not a musical film, and the band does not appear live in the film.. The film is set in London in 1964, a time when the working class youth broadly aligned themselves with one of two ...
Quadrophenia Review
Quadrophenia Review. In the London of 1965, Jimmy Cooper is a disillusioned youth, who finds some kind of purpose with hid Mod gang, riding their Lambrettas and cruising for girls, especially ...
Quadrophenia Review :: Criterion Forum
The Who's classic rock opera <I>Quadrophenia</I> was the basis for this invigorating coming-of-age movie and depiction of the defiant, drug-fueled mod subculture of early 1960s London. Our antihero is Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a teenager dissatisfied with family, work, and love. He spends his time knocking around with his clothes-obsessed, pill-popping, scooter-driving fellow mods, a group whose ...
Quadrophenia
A passionate and furious film about a 14-year-old boy killed in the US in the 50s, and a quirky story about Beanie Babies becoming a word-of-mouth craze. 21 Jul 2023.
How we made Quadrophenia, by Phil Daniels and Leslie Ash
He ultimately rejects the whole ethos of being a mod - making your whole life revolve around sitting on a silly scooter. In the end, he had to jack it in to move on. He couldn't take it any ...
Quadrophenia (1979)
The Who's classic rock opera Quadrophenia was the basis for this invigorating coming-of-age movie and depiction of the defiant, drug-fueled mod subculture of early 1960s London. Our antihero is Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a teenager dissatisfied with family, work, and love. He spends his time knocking around with his clothes-obsessed, pill-popping, scooter-driving fellow mods, a group whose ...
Quadrophenia
It's a moody period drama, as obsessively detailed as "Almost Famous," about 1964's English youth scene. Although it's inspired by a legendary Who album that the band will perform on tour ...
Quadrophenia: back when Britain's youngsters ran riot
Britain's youngest rioter escapes on her tricycle. The mods plan a weekend away in Brighton. So do the rockers. It turns into a running street riot. Kids whack each other with deckchairs, rockers ...
‎Quadrophenia (1979) directed by Franc Roddam • Reviews, film + cast
Synopsis. A Way of Life. Based on the 1973 rock opera album of the same name by The Who, this is the story of 60s teenager Jimmy. At work he slaves in a dead-end job. While after, he shops for tailored suits and rides his scooter as part of the London Mod scene.
Quadrophenia (1979) CLASSIC FILM REVIEW
It's Mod's Vs Rockers in Brighton in this classic film review of 1979's Quadrophenia, the tale of teenager Jimmy Cooper a guy who seeks solace with his mod c...
Quadrophenia (1979) Movie Review from Eye for Film
Although critically panned upon its release in 1979 Franc Roddam's feature directorial debut has since become a cult classic. The abundance of sex, violence and drugs were seen as vulgar and unnecessary by a country only just recovering from the mammoth hangover of the Sixties. As years have gone by though, the film has become increasingly ...
Quadrophenia
Directed by Franc Roddam • 1979 • United Kingdom Starring Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Sting The Who's classic rock opera "Quadrophenia" was the basis for this invigorating coming-of-age movie and depiction of the defiant, drug-fueled mod subculture of early-1960s London. Our antihero is Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a teenager dissatisfied with family, work, and love.
Quadrophenia (re-release)
Release Date Jun 29, 2001. Duration 2 h. Rating R. Genres. Drama. Music. Tagline Hell On Wheels! This re-release of the 1979 classic rock opera has been digitally re-mastered.
Quadrophenia review
Quadrophenia review. By Total Film. published 31 January 1997. Comments; Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best ...
Quadrophenia (1979)
The film takes place in 1964 and follows the life of Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels), a young London Mod. Disillusioned by his parents and a dull job as a post room boy in an advertising firm, Jimmy finds an outlet for his teenage angst by taking amphetamines, partying, riding scooters and brawling with Rockers, accompanied by his Mod friends Dave (Mark Wingett), Chalky (Philip Davis) and Spider ...
Quadrophenia (1979) Movie Review
An angst-ridden London youth, Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels) escapes the drudgery of his postal job as a member of the Mods, a sharply dressed gang constantly a...
Quadrophenia by The Who
Quadrophenia reached #2 on the U.S. album charts, the highest ever for The Who, kept from the top spot by Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. In 1979, the film Quadrophenia was released but focused more on the story than the music, which was relegated to mere background during certain scenes. Although the band viewed the original tour in ...
Quadrophenia (The movie)
The movie Quadrophenia is a 1979 British drama film loosely based on the Who´s 1973 rock opera double album of the same name. ... Quadrophenia has a 100% Tomatometer score at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 reviews. It also has an 82% audience score, based on 2,500+ ratings. Short facts about the 1979 film Quadrophenia. World premier: 14 ...
Quadrophenia
Quadrophenia. By Lenny Kaye. December 20, 1973. Q uadrophenia is the Who at their most symmetrical, their most cinematic, ultimately their most maddening. Captained by Pete Townshend, they have ...
Concrete Utopia review
Set in the last residential tower block remaining in Seoul, this South Korean genre film puts the city's haves and have-nots into deadly competition Phil Hoad Fri 5 Apr 2024 07.03 EDT Last ...

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